Even though attenuation processes in the subsurface are known to reduce the impacts of contaminant plumes, their importance is significantly dependent on geological and climatic characteristics, as ...well as on the leachate quality. The knowledge of attenuation processes linked to different geological formations is therefore fundamental in predicting the impacts of waste disposal areas. Geophysical methods are useful tools for assessing and delineating contaminant plumes, as well as their changes with time, which enables their lower-cost monitoring and association with geological and environmental properties. This paper shows the results of geophysical surveys conducted in the years of 1996, 2005 and 2018 in a waste disposal area located at a Guarani Aquifer recharge zone in Brazil. The objective of this study was to show the evolution of the contamination plume, as well as discuss some possible transport and attenuation processes that the contaminants may undergo in similar areas. Five geophysical sections surveyed within a time span of 20 years were compared, and the information was integrated with physicochemical data from monitoring wells. The results show a horizontal plume spreading, reaching about 200 m from the deposit and about 60 m of depth, 20 years after the ending of disposal activities. The measured resistivities in 2018 are similar to the ones found in 1996 and 2005 in the same surveyed areas, showing that a significant temporal attenuation did not occur. Moreover, samples collected close to anomaly zones and within a distance of 200 m from the deposit presented concentrations of some heavy metals above the screening values according to the Brazilian legislation, showing a metals mobility higher than previously expected, which can be possibly explained by the aquifer's acidic conditions. The estimated plume velocity was about 7 m/yr, a plume deepening was observed until about 50 m and changes in water flow direction and/or diffusion processes made the plume spread to areas previously regarded as upgradient. Therefore, the present paper shows that the rehabilitation of sites neighboring waste disposal sites (less than 200 m from it) did not seem to be feasible through natural attenuation in sandy soils and that the plume spreading is significant in this geological formation. Thus, abandoned disposal areas, constantly considered to be closed after the ending of disposal activities in developing countries, generate plumes which move silently and may reach areas of concern in the future.
•Geophysical surveys were conducted within a time span of 20 years.•A plume spreading was noticed, reaching about 200 m from the landfill and 50 m deep.•Upgradient areas were affected, explained by hydraulic conductivity anomalies.•The measured resistivities did not significantly change over time.•Sites neighboring the deposit did not undergo natural attenuation in 20 years' time.
The inadequate disposal of solid waste, a common practice in developing countries, can represent an important pollution source since the closure of these deposits typically does not include the ...adoption of monitoring, isolation, or remediation techniques. Even so, several disposal areas are abandoned, without performing long-term monitoring in order to evaluate the depletion of contaminants’ concentrations. This research aimed at comparing current and historical physicochemical data of water resources surrounding a non-sanitary landfill situated in a Guarani Aquifer recharge zone. The primary objective was to recognize whether significant changes in contaminants concentrations occurred, as well as if the area still poses a significant threat to the environment, 20 years after ending disposing activities. Samples from eight monitoring wells and three surface water points (upstream and downstream to the deposit) were evaluated in the periods of 1996–1997 and 2016–2019. The parameters pH, electrical conductivity (EC), alkalinity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), chloride, nitrate, iron, manganese, calcium, and magnesium were investigated. Contamination has been detected in the landfill surroundings since the ending of the waste disposal (1996–1997), even though its intensity reduced within short distances from the waste mass. Nevertheless, no statistical variation occurred in 20 years’ time considering COD, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and ORP. Moreover, increases of EC, pH, alkalinity, iron, and manganese concentrations were observed for the years of 2016–2019. The results indicate that the evaluated contaminants do not suffer depletion in the surroundings of non-sanitary landfills in sandy aquifers, considering a time span of 20 years. This study also suggests that those areas need to be adequately remediated to permit other future land uses.
Improper landfills (waste dumps) are common waste disposal systems in developing countries and represent sources of environmental pollution. These sites defy researchers and managers because they ...lack structures to collect liquid, solid and gaseous samples, which make it challenging to monitor local environmental quality. In this work, we show one device for sample collection to monitor leachate quality in a closed waste dump in Brazil. During the installation of this device (Leachate Monitoring Station, LMS), interesting facts about the structural, physical, and chemical composition of an old dump could be visualized. Two different kinds of leachate were found: the accumulated leachate (AL), a thick dark fluid entrapped above non-degraded material, and the mobile leachate (ML), a lighter liquid which flowed into the LMS, and thus was not stagnant like AL. In the AL, the chemical oxygen demand and total ammoniacal nitrogen average concentrations were about 21,500 mg/L and 1000 mg/L, respectively, which were considerably higher than the ML concentrations, of about 1100 mg/L and 200 mg/L, respectively, for the same parameters. Thus, despite the lower concentrations of hazardous substances in the ML, the waste body stores pockets of leachate (AL) with significant concentrations of hazardous compounds, even after 15 years of the dumpsite closure. Moreover, waste solubilization assays showed that the solid material could not be considered inert according to the Brazilian Standard Norm NBR 10004/2004. The installation of the LMS enabled a new understanding about pollutant accumulation inside waste deposits and provided an effective, low-cost tool to monitor leachate production in non-sanitary landfills. The results warn about the risks that old dumpsites still pose to the environment and reinforce the need for a post-care action plan for managing uncontrolled waste deposits.
Parabens are preservatives widely used by industry since these compounds have antifungal properties, relative low cost, and stability over a wide pH range. This study aims to quantify and assess the ...environmental risks of methylparaben (MP), ethylparaben (EP), propylparaben (PP), and butylparaben (BP) in surface water from a Brazilian River, Mogi Guaçu. The State of São Paulo, including the Mogi Guaçu River region, suffered from a period of intense drought and high temperatures, which caused anomalies in river flows and water supply problems. The water samples were collected from 14 locations, along 300 km of river extension, at four different seasons. Samples were previously extracted and pre-concentrated by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) and later analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization in tandem with mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) detector. During the sampling period, PP was detected in 89.3% of the water samples, MP in 87.5%, EP in 73.2%, and BP in 48.2%. The sum of parabens’ average levels was 42.2 μg L
−1
in Winter, 41.5 μg L
−1
in Summer, 36.6 μg L
−1
in Autumn, and 31.5 μg L
−1
in Spring. These levels can be attributed to the smaller dilution effect caused by the drought period. Also, ecological risk assessment indicated that parabens could take a low, medium, and high risk for target organisms in the measured aquatic environments, especially considering
Pimephales promelas
where 15% of the samples do not present potential risk, 84% of samples can present medium risk and only 1% have low risk. Besides, the risks for BP are also considerably higher, when almost 40% presents for high risks and 60% for medium risks. The present study indicates worrisome threats to the water source and to allegedly protected biodiversity and, therefore, urgent actions are needed to effectively protect.
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•The SWAT model supports better management of erosion processes.•Computational models can be used with methods of visual recording erosion.•Simple statistical models aligned to SWAT ...is adequate to analyze erosive processes.•The spatially distributed erosion identifies the susceptible areas to water erosion.
Water-driven erosion associated with the transport and deposition of sediments in watersheds may lead to contamination problems causing significant damage to land and infrastructure. The key factors that influence erosive processes are well known and include the precipitation rate, terrain topography, soil type, and vegetation cover. The soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) considers these factors and may be used to identify areas susceptible to soil erosion and to estimate soil loss and sediment transport and deposition. To corroborate this assumption, real data on rill erosion and sediment transport from the Mogi Guaçu River Basin in southeastern Brazil were used to validate SWAT estimates. The study shows that the model is able to identify soil-eroded areas and replicate the scale and variation patterns of sediment production, although not with great precision. Hence, it can successfully be used for prioritizing areas that require action and for evaluating alternative soil management and conservation practices to mitigate erosive processes.
O lixiviado de aterro sanitário é um efluente gerado a partir da mistura de líquidos produzidos na degradação de resíduos sólidos e a água pluvial que infiltra o depósito de material. Estudos na ...literatura, abordando tratamento de lixiviados de aterro sanitário, indicam que os processos biológicos podem não ser suficientes para que os padrões de lançamento vigentes na legislação sejam cumpridos. Neste contexto os processos oxidativos avançados estão sendo apontados como uma alternativa atrativa para efluentes que apresentam baixa biodegradabilidade. A presente pesquisa objetivou avaliar, em escala de bancada, a tratabilidade do lixiviado de aterro sanitário com aplicação do tratamento de oxidação eletroquímica seguida pelo tratamento biológico de um sistema de lodos ativados operado em batelada. A eletro-oxidação promove a remoção ou degradação de espécies poluentes, direta ou indiretamente, por meio de processos que não necessitam de adição de grandes quantidades de produtos químicos. Nos ensaios realizados com lixiviado bruto e com lixiviado alcalinizado submetido ao tratamento físico-químico de air stripping não houve necessidade de adicionar eletrólitos suporte para a oxidação química ocorrer e ao longo de tais ensaios a matéria foi mensurada quanto à DQO, COT e COD. Quando aplicada a eletro-oxidação no lixiviado bruto (sem tratamento prévio), houve 87% de remoção de DQO utilizando o anodo DDB com aplicação de 48 A h L-1 (densidade de corrente de 100 mA cm-2) e 65% de remoção da DQO quando utilizado o anodo DSA, nas mesmas condições. Analogamente, foram obtidos valores percentuais de remoção de COT de 70 e 60%, respectivamente e ainda 61 e 67% em relação ao COD. A fim de se complementar os estudos quanto à atuação da eletroquímica no tratamento do lixiviado de aterros sanitários, o efluente eletro-oxidado foi adicionado a um sistema de lodos ativados em duas proporções volumétricas distintas (2,5 e 5%) combinadas com esgoto sanitário (97,5 e 95%, respectivamente). Para controle e possível análise na eficiência, foram realizados ensaios com lixiviado bruto (5% de lixiviado bruto e 95% de esgoto sanitário) e somente esgoto sanitário (100%). Foram obtidos valores de remoção de DQO de: 75% em condição 100% esgoto sanitário, 64% com adição 2,5% de lixiviado eletro-oxidado, 57% com adição de 5% de lixiviado eletro-oxidado e 38% com adição de 5% de lixiviado bruto, além de valores percentuais de remoção de COT em cerca de 56, 52, 47 e 37%, respectivamente. E ainda foram obtida remoções nos valores de DBO na ordem de 91, 87, 64 e 24%, respectivamente. De forma geral, o sistema combinado proposto atingiu eficiências consideráveis e se mostrou compatível com o intuito de se estudar o aumento da tratabilidade por meio da aplicação de processos eletroquímicos em lixiviado bruto.
The landfill leachate is a wastewater generated from the mixture of liquids produced in the degradation of solid waste and rainwater that infiltrates the landfill. Studies in the literature approaching the treatment of landfill leachate indicate that biological processes may not be sufficient for the discharge standards prevailing in the present legislation. In this context the advanced oxidation processes (AOP) are being singled out as an attractive alternative for wastewater with a low biodegradability. This study aimed to evaluate, in a bench scale treatability of landfill leachate treatment with application of electrochemical oxidation followed by biological treatment of an activated sludge batch system. The electro-oxidation promotes the removal or degradation of pollutants species directly or indirectly, through processes which do not require addition of large amounts of chemicals. For tests with raw leachate and leachate with alkaline subjected to physico- chemical treatment of air stripping, there was no need to add support for electrolytes and chemical oxidation occurs over such trials the subject was measured as the COD, TOC and DOC. When applied the electro-oxidation in the raw leachate (without treatment) was reached 87% for COD removal using the DDB anode with the application of 48 L h-1 (current density 100 mA cm-2) and 65% COD removal when using the DSA anode under the same conditions. Similarly, the percentage values of TOC removal are 70 and 60 % respectively and also 61 and 67% compared to the DOC was obtained. In order to complement the studies regarding the performance of the electrochemical treatment of landfill leachate, the electro-oxidized effluent was added to an activated sludge system in two different volume ratios (2,5 and 5%) combined with sewage (97.5 and 95%, respectively). For control and possible efficiency analysis, testing with raw leachate (5% and 95 % crude leachate sanitary sewer) and only sanitary wastewater (100 %) were performed. Values of COD removal was obtained: 75% in 100% sewage condition, 64% with addition of 2,5% leachate electro- oxidized , with 57% addition of 5% leachate electro- oxidized and 38% with the addition of 5% raw leachate , and percentage values of TOC removal by about 56, 52, 47 and 37% , respectively. And BOD removal values were obtained in the order of 91, 87, 64 and 24%, respectively. In general, the proposed combined system has achieved considerable efficiency and proved to be compatible with the aim of studying the increased tractability through the use of electrochemical processes raw leachate.
